Page 82 of Ashborne Forged

He’d figure shit out.

What if he didn’t figure it out?

Panicking again, I reached for Kham. He and Koa were circling high overhead, keeping themselves well clear of the castle towers.

‘Kham, what does Koa hear from her?’

‘She is frightened and distracted by the people. But Koa knows she’s safe. I had to remind her that we are bonded to humans, and cannot simply flame any we do not like.’

‘Oh dear.’ My heart rose. Perhaps all this would be solved even if Grace was taken? Maybe Koa would just kill this bastard and take her?

Kham saw my mental images, and rumbled. ‘Honor is not honor if we only apply right and wrong to those who agree with us,’ he growled. ‘Do not urge my mate to give in to her baser instincts. We will solve this without murder.’

I continued pacing, but shrank a little. I knew he was right—it was the same reason Ronen shot Gil down, and I hadn’t encouraged his offer. Killing Breckon would likely cause more problems than it solved.

And yet…

I turned in my pacing to find Gil, eyes intent on me, his arms folded, but his body poised. Ready to tackle me if I did something stupid, or take down anyone who was a danger to me.

He was the most loyal, and courageous—and reckless and brutal—man I knew.

The others in the squad often treated his offers of violence as a joke. But I knew they weren’t. Gil didn’t look for opportunities to kill. He simply regarded it as a valid solution to problems.

I still didn’t fully understand what had happened to him before he became a Furyknight that had made him so pragmatic about life and death. But I was glad to know he was at my back.

If anyone ever came for me, and he had opportunity, Gil would stop them. I knew that.

And he knew I’d help him hide the body.

That didn’t help us with a man of prominence who would be missed within hours, and who was known to the rulers. Ronen and Donavyn were both right—noble society was an entirely different beast. Even spying among them required a different kind of stealth.

If we started killing them, we’d end up in battle with the entire bloodline network across the territories. Not only would that get ugly fast, it would suck every kingdom into war.

That path only led to suspicion of the Furyknights rising to power in our society, the loss of respect, until the rot seeped into our ranks.

Furyknights were not flawless men. But we were usually men of honor, with the courage to protect others. Along with our dragons. If the world began to view us as threats, rather than weapons for their protection, we became the villains to be fought.

These men were my family. This place was our home. Anything that threatened this place, these men, threatened the only life I cared about. I was taken back to that meeting when I’d listened to Donavyn describe the changes in the kingdom, that roiling dread bubbled through me.

The squads gone.

Our purpose dissolved.

Our family disbanded.

Grace wouldn’t be in less in danger in that scenario—the danger would just come from many more corners.

Even knowing that, Grace was worth it to me. The world could go to hell, if I had her. But the larger part of me also knew we’d both regret it if I sparked such a catastrophic series of events.

No, we needed to be smart about this. But the panic shrieking in my chest, and Grace’s fear and despair, made it difficult to think beyond stopping this man right now.

‘You will not lose those who love you, no matter how the world might change,’ Kham assured me.

‘Don’t be so certain,’ I muttered back, though I knew what he meant. I wouldn’t lose him. Or Grace. I wouldn’t lose Gil, or Ronen.

But if, together, we lost everything that made us safe? Everything that we valued? What then?

A wonderful image bloomed in my mind, of sweeping Grace out from under this Lord’s nose and fleeing with her, back to the hut. We could make a life there. But the truth was, if Vosgaarde went to war, it would find us, even out there. And there, we’d be alone.